Chapter 2
I walked out of Kensington Corp feeling completely at ease. Looking at the sunlight, I felt completely relaxed.
Finally, I did not have to stay in that trashy company anymore, enduring constant humiliation from those jerks.
Over the past two months, they mocked me endlessly. They injected unknown substances into my drinks and fed me expired snacks of questionable origins.
Besides that, I was the only one who had to clean up after Sean's mess. I had enough of it.
I merely suggested upgrading the equipment and refusing their processed snacks, and they called me pretentious.
Back when I lived with my adoptive father, William, the servants would have treated my words as orders.
My adoptive father was the world's largest arms tycoon and a top-tier weapons designer. The inheritance and research institute he left me behind could buy out thousands of Kensington Corps.
If the Kensington family did not find me right when I was just emerging from the grief of my adoptive father's death, there was no way I would've come to a place like this.
Outdated equipment, crude designs, and a group of incompetent designers coasting in their positions.
I truly did not have a single good thing to say about this place.
I once held a bit of hope. I was grateful that my biological parents found me. I could finally experience family warmth. Also, since I achieved success, I also thought of returning home to help my parents.
I just didn't think that this would be how things ended.
I strode away from the office.
Sonya watched me leave as she furrowed her brows tightly.
Sean, standing next to her, said innocently, "Sonya, I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong again? Why don't you bring Wesley along tonight? I won't go. After all, he is the true son of Mom and Dad."
His gaze never once left Sonya's face. Just as he expected, Sonya immediately went to console him.
"Sean, come on, don't think that way. You definitely deserve the biggest credit this time. Just enjoy it. As for Wesley, he's just a punitive, jealous person. You'll forever be Mom and Dad's favorite son."
Sonya hugged Sean, adding, "You will also forever be my favorite brother."
Tears welled up in Sean's eyes. He said to her, "Thank you, Sonya."
While they were sharing a sibling bond, I returned home to pack up. I was leaving the place, so I was going to bring my things along. The clothes were not important. It was mainly my research drafts and experimental records.
While packing up, Sonya sent me a message.
[Don't join us for the celebration party tonight. I don't want Sean to be sad seeing you. Just stay at home and get me the report. I want to see it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning. If you perform well, I might take you out for some food tonight.]
When I saw the message, I chuckled out loud.
I was the sole person who developed this technology, yet I was not invited to the celebration?
And if I wanted to eat something, I had to perform well?
At first, I did not really care about the small bonus money. We were a family, after all. If they wanted to give it, fine.
But judging from Sonya and my parents' attitude, they never once treated me as family.
If that was the case, there was nothing else left to say.
[Whatever. I never wanted anything of yours to begin with.]
Chapter 3
I did not know how Sean or Sonya reacted, but I knew my parents, Robert and Agatha, were furious.
In less than a minute after the message was sent, my parents kicked my door open.
Without asking a single question, they started berating me, "We took so much effort to take you home from the mountains, not so you can laze around all day and bully your brother!"
"Sonya's your older sister. Sean's our son, too. How dare you talk to them like this! As expected of a country bumpkin! You clearly have no upbringing at all!"
"Your adoptive father was probably just like you! Some backcountry nobody! Serves him right to die in the mountains!"
I was not angry at first, but they brought up my adoptive father.
According to him, I was dumped into a trash bin when I was three months old. When he found me, I did not cry or yell. I just kept looking at him. He initially wanted to leave me, but he returned and took me along with him.
He said that perhaps this was fated.
Although he was wealthy, he was very hands-on in bringing me up. No matter how busy he got, he would always find time for me.
He taught me how to create weapons and improve them. He provided me with an education in school.
He had no obligation to care for me, but he always treated me like his own son.
My parents could insult me all they want, but they could never insult my adoptive father!
I immediately looked up at them, my gaze gleaming with fury.
I initially thought of just letting it go, due to their age, but it seemed that staying silent was no longer an option.
"What did I do? Why are you yelling at me without any rhyme or reason? Have you even looked into the entire story?"
They never saw me with a temper before, nor would they accept me for having one.
Robert raised his walking cane and struck it on my abdomen.
"You insolent brat! Sonya and Sean treat you so well! How could you upset them!"
Before I could even finish what I wanted to say, I was struck by his cane. I thought about standing up straight once more when his cane came down on me again.
Although Robert was old, he struck me quite hard. I could barely take it.
I fell on the floor on my knees. I could taste rust in my mouth.
Yet, I still looked up at Robert defiantly.
"I'm upsetting them? I just want to ask, why is it that the project I worked on, the research I completed, yet the results and bonus all went to Sean? He didn't do anything, yet the bonus was all his.
"He got the seaside mansion and luxury car, yet all I got was a coupon for a cup of latte and some stupid cake. Does that sound reasonable to you?"
My parents immediately looked shifty. It seemed that they forgot to block me on their social media.
But how could they ever admit their mistake?
Robert's cane came raining down on me once more.
"You're still talking back! So you care that much about material things? Those are your sister and your brother! You ungrateful brat! Do you not even care about your family? So what if your brother has a mansion? Does he not deserve one?"
Whether it was out of anger or to cover their guilt, he raised the cane again and struck my back several times.
A tearing pain exploded near my ribs. It felt like one of them snapped.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to speak, "How many things did I do for you the past two months? How much bonus should I have received, and how much did I actually get? How much of mine has he taken? And you want to talk about family? I don't need a brother who only takes all of my things!"
Robert wanted to continue hitting me when a sob came from the door.
They turn to see Sean standing by the door. He said, "It's fine. Wesley's right. I'm not his brother. I don't deserve to be part of the Kensington family. Since my existence has hurt the family, I'll leave."
Chapter 4
Hearing such words from Sean, the entire family instantly panicked.
Sonya, who was next to him, looked worried as well. They immediately went up to him to take turns consoling him.
They promised him money in the future, as well as teaching me another lesson.
I was the only one, still kneeling on the floor, looking at everything happening in front of me.
For the first time, my eyes grew misty, not from the pain, but from the grievance.
If my adoptive father were still alive, how would they dare treat me like this? And how would I have ever ended up here?
The pain from my broken ribs became more and more intense. It felt as if bone fragments were tearing through muscle, blood surging chaotically inside my body.
Struggling, I pulled out my phone and tried to message someone I know for help.
But I only began to type my message when someone kicked the phone in my hand away.
Sonya stood in front of me in fury, her fists clenched tightly.
"Wesley, you have crossed the line! Since you're unwilling to acknowledge Sean as your younger brother, you will no longer be part of the family!"
She yelled, "Guards! Take him down to the cellar and keep an eye on him! Put him in his place, then throw him out!"
Then, Sonya left with the rest of the family, happily chatting away. No one cared about me.
Before Sean left, he turned back to give me a provocative look, his eyes gleaming smugly.
At the same time, the guard of the Kensington family arrived. He dragged me to the prison cell in the cellar.
With every step he took, my broken ribs bounced against their shoulders. Each jolt sent another wave of agony through my body.
Ever since arriving at the Kensington family, I never once felt the warmth of a family. All this family brought me was pain.
Even death, something I once thought was far away, now felt terrifyingly close.
I opened my mouth, trying to ask for help. But the moment I opened my mouth, blood came pouring out.
The guard looked at me and quickly placed me on the floor.
I thought he finally realized that something was wrong with me.
But he just cackled.
"Alright, Wesley Lowe, you've been too much of a hindrance. Luckily, Mr. Kensington hit you quite badly. That way, we can get rid of you even more conveniently."
He added, "By the way, Sean told me to give you a message. As long as you're dead, no one can stop him in his path anymore."
Then, the guard produced a syringe and needle from his pocket.
He smiled at me and said, "This injection causes blood clots. With your condition, your blood already congested, it'll finish you off nicely. Death by blocked circulation. Sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it?
"Come on then, at least you know how you die. You have only yourself to blame for your bad luck!"
With a malicious smile, he raised the syringe.
I never thought that death would land right in front of me.
I shut my eyes in despair.
The next second, the doors to the cellar burst open with a deafening crash.